The Borderlands of Ictus is a gargantuan, safe nation, ruled by Prime Minister ZG Edmondson with an even hand, and notable for its vat-grown people, keen interest in outer space, and absence of drug laws. The compassionate population of 26.992 billion Ictusians have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The enormous government juggles the competing demands of Education, Healthcare, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Stratton City. The average income tax rate is 98.2%.

The frighteningly efficient Ictusian economy, worth a remarkable 4,206 trillion Fiats a year, is highly specialized and mostly made up of the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Book Publishing and Tourism. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is an impressive 155,851 Fiats, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Selling advanced CPUs to anti-Ictusian terrorists is no chip on the government's shoulders, compliance officers smash the kneecaps of unethical bureaucrats, park rangers struggle to deal with a rash of stolen pic-a-nic baskets, and surveillance cameras are banned. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Ictus's national animal is the Human, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Ictus is ranked 8,263^rd in the world and 396^th in Balder for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 459.17 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.